Ithaca College

Are you concerned about the well-being or safety of an Ithaca College student? The ICare Team can help. 

The ICare (Ithaca College Awareness Response and Education) Team assists students in distress who may be struggling with significant academic, emotional, or health related problems.  

Faculty, staff, students, and family members play an important role in identifying and referring a student in distress for help.  Signs of distress can vary but may include a student who:

• Does not attend class regularly.
• Appears withdrawn or socially isolated.
• Appears unusually sad, anxious, or angry.
• Discloses personal distress such as family problems, financial difficulties, depression, grief, thoughts of suicide or self-harm. 
• Demonstrates bizarre or erratic behavior.

The ICare Team acknowledges that it may be hard for a student in distress to ask for help, to know where to turn to for help, or to even acknowledge that there is a problem.  If a student is behaving in a way which makes you concerned, please pass along your concerns/observations by completing the online ICare referral at ithaca.edu/icare. Completion of an ICare referral typically leads to a caring IC staff member completing outreach to the student in distress in order to:

• Offer the student help.
• Problem solve difficulties the student may be experiencing.
• Connect the student to additional resources either on or off-campus. 

Anyone can complete an ICare referral and choose to remain anonymous as the referral source.  However, a student may be more comfortable and receptive to help if they know that an ICare referral has been made, and they can expect to be contacted by an IC staff member.  Being transparent with a student about your concerns and the ICare process can help a student feel cared for and relieved that help is on the way. Frame any decision for a student to seek and accept help as an intelligent choice. 

Ithaca College cares about the wellbeing, health, and safety of all students and empowers Ithaca College community members to do the same.

Please note: The ICare referral is not a crisis services, and it could take up to 72 hours to review and respond to an ICare referral.  If your concerns about a student require immediate assistance, please contact the Ithaca College Office of Public Safety at (607) 274-3333. 

You can view the ICare Team's website for further information on ICare processes, how to best help a student in distress, and to view a list of distressed behaviors that may warrant completion of an ICare referral.